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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22844509">The Accident</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/BadassBurgess/pseuds/BadassBurgess'>BadassBurgess</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Professional Wrestling, World Wrestling Entertainment</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Action/Adventure, Crimes &amp; Criminals, Drama, F/F, Murder, Romance, Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-02-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-02-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-04-28 16:33:32</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>9,286</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22844509</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/BadassBurgess/pseuds/BadassBurgess</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Bayley Martinez is about to start working for Stamford PD's Intelligence Division. Will she find anything out of the ordinary in a seemingly straightford traffic accident?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Sasha Banks/Bayley | Davina Rose</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"How do I look?" Bayley Martinez asked Sasha Banks, her long term girlfriend. They were in the living area of their apartment, on the morning of Bayley's first day working with Stamford City Police Department's Intelligence Division. The new job meant that Bayley, while still technically a regular police officer, was not required to wear her uniform. She needed to fit in with everyone else who worked in Intelligence, who were detectives, apart from Lucy Thorne, the boss, who was something of a mystery other than the fact that she had been drafted in from the United Kingdom's MI6.</p><p>"You look stunning," Sasha said, looking Bayley up and down as she gave a twirl, showing off her black jeans and a light purple top that was classy without being over the top, and revealing without being slutty.</p><p>Bayley had chosen her outfit based on what she had seen Ms Thorne wearing, since that was all the guidance she had to go on with regard to Intelligence Division's dress code. "Thanks," she smiled. "I spent some time on the choice of top."</p><p>"Looks like you spent some time on the choice of jeans too. You have the most amazing booty, Bay." Sasha pulled Bayley close and grabbed her butt, giving it a squeeze.</p><p>"Mmm, if only I could stay and have some fun," Bayley purred, quickly getting turned on. Unfortunately, the last thing she wanted to do was show up late on her first day. She had the impression that commander Thorne wasn't someone to make angry, least of all as a new starter.</p><p>"We'll save the fun for tonight," Sasha promised. "Good luck, honey. Have a great day."</p><p>Bayley kissed her lover on the lips. "You too, babe. I'll text you if I get a chance. Love you."</p><p>"I love you too."</p><p>With that, Bayley headed for the door. It was time to start getting her head in the game.</p><hr/><p>Arriving at the police station, Bayley found the newly-promoted sergeant Ronda Rousey working the front desk. In the month that Bayley had been away for training, captain Dean Ambrose had left Stamford, allowing sergeant Roman Reigns to be promoted to captain, and Rousey to get the job as sergeant. Under the Reigns era, he had never been found at the front desk, preferring to work out of his office. Rousey apparently intended to do things differently.</p><p>"Martinez," Rousey said in greeting. "I need to get your fingerprints onto the Intelligence Division system, so that you can get through their security door."</p><p>That was about as close to congratulations as Bayley was going to get, she knew. If Rousey felt any pride in someone she had training getting a big assignment after less than two years, she didn't show it.</p><p>"Congrats on your promotion, Sergeant," Bayley said cheerfully, walking up to the desk, hoping that Rousey might at least crack a smile for once. She was disappointed.</p><p>"Yeah, yeah. Come around behind the desk, please," Rousey said.</p><p>Bayley did as she was told. Aware that her former training officer was not the best with computers, she prepared herself for some amusement when she rounded the desk and saw Rousey moving a digital scanner into position onto the shelf below the front desk. Again, she was disappointed. Rousey pulled up the program that she needed without any issues.</p><p>"Right or left hand, all four fingers," the sergeant instructed.</p><p>Bayley chose to go with her right hand. She placed her four fingers on the scanner and watched the progress on Rousey's computer screen as the software added them to the system.</p><p>"Okay, you should be good to go," Rousey said when the process was complete. "Go and see if you can get through the door. If not, come back and we'll try again."</p><p>"Will do. Thanks, ma'am," Bayley said cheerfully, mindful of the fact that Rousey now outranked her.</p><p>"Martinez?" Rousey said as Bayley walked back around the desk.</p><p>Bayley stopped and looked at her. "Yes?"</p><p>"Don't let me down." It was delivered as an order, but with some fondness that meant a lot to Bayley.</p><p>"I won't," Bayley promised. The little exchange sent her on her way with a smile on her face.</p><p>It was only a short walk to the steel security door that separated Intelligence Division from the rest of the station. Thanks to the fingerprint scanner beside it, only the chosen few could gain access.</p><p>"Let's see if it works," Bayley said to herself as she placed her right hand on the scanner. After a couple of seconds she was rewarded with a loud click from the door's lock. She had been granted admission.</p><p>Bayley pushed the door open, and allowed it to swing closed behind her with a satisfying thump. She took a deep breath, feeling a wave of nerves at the prospect of meeting her new colleagues. She had worked one assignment with the division in the past, but had only spoken to commander Thorne.</p><p>After a short distance, the hallway widened into an open plan office space that contained four desks, each with a computer workstation and a leather office chair. Unlike some departments at Stamford, the furnishings and equipment here were state of the art. It showed that Intelligence Division had quite a substantial budget.</p><p>Three of the desks were occupied, whereas the fourth, on the left hand side closest to the entrance, was notably empty of paperwork. That was going to be her desk, she deduced. The fact that she was going to have her own desk made her proud.</p><p>"Hi, you must be Bayley," a man with long dark hair and a beard said, getting up from the desk next to hers to greet her. She supposed she might have found him quite handsome if she was into guys.</p><p>"Yes, I'm Bayley. Nice to meet you," she said, approaching him and offering a handshake.</p><p>"Adam Cole," he said, giving her a firm handshake. He then introduced the other two people in the room. "Seth Rollins. Charlotte Flair."</p><p>Bayley walked over to shake hands and eye her new colleagues up for a first impression. Flair looked like a legit badass. Rollins looked smooth and intelligent. She imagined he was a brains not brawn operator, much like herself..</p><p>"I've heard good things about you," Rollins said when they shook hands.</p><p>"Looking forward to working with you," Flair added.</p><p>"Likewise," Bayley smiled.</p><p>"I see you've met everyone, Martinez." The comment came in a prim and proper English accent. Bayley loved it, not that she was going to tell her new boss that.</p><p>"Yes, ma'am," she said, turning to see commander Thorne leaning against the frame of her office's doorway down at the far end of the room. She had her hair in a ponytail today, and was wearing a black leather jacket with a dark blue top underneath it. Jeans seemed to be the go to for everyone in the division.</p><p>"That's good," Thorne said. She pointed to the empty desk. "I'm sure it didn't push your powers of deduction too far to figure out that's your desk. Flair will show you how to use our computer system and get you familiar with our paperwork, but first I'll give you a tour around the rest of the department."</p><p>"Sounds good," Bayley said, walking over to the boss.</p><p>The first stop on the tour was the office next to Thorne's, on it's right hand side. Bayley had seen before that it was a room set up for a computer expert. As she walked in there behind the commander, she saw a young African American woman with short wavy brown hair working at a computer that had three screens connected to it. She was wearing a baseball cap, which seemed a little odd for working in an office, but Bayley was in no position to criticise. The woman looked up from the screen which had been holding her rapt attention.</p><p>"Bayley Martinez, this is Clementine Everett. She's our technology expert."</p><p>"Nice to meet you," Clementine smiled. Looking a bit socially awkward, she didn't offer a handshake.</p><p>"Good to meet you," Bayley said, giving one of her friendliest smiles.</p><p>"Clem can hack a phone faster than I can make a cup of tea," Thorne said.</p><p>"You never make the tea," Cole said from over at his desk, having heard the comment.</p><p>"Of course I don't, I'm the boss," Thorne replied.</p><p>Bayley chuckled, glad that banter wasn't off limits in her new working environment.</p><p>"Speaking of making tea, or coffee, or even snacks, there's a canteen through here," Thorne said.</p><p>To the right of Clementine's office was an open doorway, the door having actually been removed. Inside was the canteen, Bayley saw as she walked in. There was a coffee machine, a refrigerator, a microwave, a few cupboards, and a circular table with four chairs where meals could be eaten if necessary. So far, Intelligence Division looked like being a nice place to work.</p><p>"The bathrooms, as you would call them, are through there," Thorne said, pointing at a door on the other side of the canteen. "Now, follow me. Time for you to see what only people who work for me get to see."</p><p>Bayley realised she was about to go through the security to the left of Thorne's office. She had already spotted that it was secured another fingerprint scanner.</p><p>"You're about to go into The Batcave," Rollins said, watching them walk over to the door.</p><p>"Please tell me you don't actually call it the bat cave?" Bayley asked Thorne, testing the waters with a bit of humour of her own.</p><p>"No, only Rollins does that, because he's a colossal pain in the arse."</p><p>Bayley laughed as Thorne unlocked the door and led the way through.</p><p>"This place wouldn't be the same without me," Rollins called after them.</p><p>Smiling, Bayley took in her new surroundings. To her surprise, she was heading down a flight of concrete steps to a basement level that she hadn't known existed under Intelligence Division. She now understood the reason for the Batcave comment.</p><p>"Have look around," Thorne said, staying at the bottom of the steps. There was some pride in her voice. Clearly Intelligence wasn't merely a job for her. Bayley respected that.</p><p>In front of her, Bayley saw three black SUVs with blacked out windows. If they were not brand new, they certainly looked it. They were parked facing a steel roller shutter door that was currently closed. It confused Bayley, as she wasn't aware of a vehicle exit on this side of the station. "Where does that lead to?" she asked.</p><p>"There's a tunnel on the other side. It comes out a couple of blocks from here. There's another security door at that end."</p><p>"Nice," Bayley said. Over on the right side of the basement, she saw what was best described as an armoury. There were bullet proof vests, helmets, riot shields, automatic rifles, shotguns, and even a sniper rifle. It all looked like top of the range kit, too.</p><p>"These are some nice guns," Bayley said, walking over for a closer look.</p><p>"Yeah, they are. And you're trained to use a rifle now," Thorne said.</p><p>"I am," Bayley nodded. One of the courses she had been on over the past month had been intensive assault rifle training. "I also passed hostage negotiation, and hazardous materials training."</p><p>"I know, and you passed them comfortably," Thorne said.</p><p>The last thing for Bayley to look at was a block of three prison cells. Constructed from chain link fence, they were closer to cages than cells. She found it interesting that Intelligence Division were apprently allowed to hold their own prisoners. There didn't seem to be much in the way of conventional rules that applied to commander Thorne's unit. Bayley had been told she would need to adapt to a new way of doing things under Thorne. She was starting to see evidence of it.</p><p>"Okay, now you've had a look around, let's get you back up to sit with Flair. It shouldn't take her all that long to get you familiar with how we work around here," Thorne said.</p><p>"Can't wait to get started," Bayley said eagerly, following her new boss back upstairs.</p><p>The next few hours were uneventful, and fairly uninteresting for Bayley. Even Intelligence Division wasn't exempt from paperwork - the most boring and repetitive aspect of all police work. Detective Flair was at least quite good at guiding her through it all, and getting her used to the computer software that she would need to use.</p><p>A telephone call came in, ringing the phones on all four desks. Adam Cole chose to answer it.</p><p>"Intelligence, detective Cole," Bayley heard him say. She listened to the rest of his half of the conversation.</p><p>"Hello, sergeant Rousey. You have something for us?"</p><p>"Okay, I'll tell the boss. We'll be there as soon as we can."</p><p>Cole replaced the phone and stood up, clapping his hands together in something close to excitement. "Right, Martinez, it looks like it's time for your first Intelligence case."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Bayley got out of one of the two SUVs that had been dispatched from Intelligence Division to answer sergeant Rousey's call. She had travelled with commander Thorne and detective Cole, while detectives Rollins and Flair had followed in the other SUV.</p><p>The sight that greeted them was the destroyed remains of some kind of sports car, utterly destroyed in a head on collision with a big rig that was sitting in the middle of the small country road with it's front grille dented in. The sports car had been further ruined by fire crews cutting it open to extract people from the wreckage. The fire crew were still on the scene, along with three ambulances and a couple of police cars. One of the ambulances was just pulling away, lights on and siren blaring, as the Intelligence Division team approached sergeant Rousey, who was standing near the destroyed car. Bayley spotted a body lying on the tarmac, covered with a plastic sheet.</p><p>"Sergeant," Thorne said in greeting. "Why am I standing here looking at a car accident?"</p><p>A car accident didn't strike Bayley as the kind of work that the division usually handled, she had to admit.</p><p>"You're here because that body over there is Dana Brooke," Rousey said, pointing at a plastic sheet-covered corpse that was lying on the road not far from the car.</p><p>"Well, shit," Cole said.</p><p>Shit indeed, Bayley thought. Dana Brooke was probably Stamford City's most famous name. Indeed, it was a world famous name. She was an actress and a singer, although her talent for the latter was debateable.</p><p>"I know it seems like a simple if nasty case of a death resulting from a road accident, but I wanted to be able to say we had our best investigators out here on the scene," Rousey said. "An hour from now, the eyes of the world are going to be on this story, and on me when I have to give a press briefing."</p><p>"Very well, we'll have a look into it," Thorne said. "What can you tell me?"</p><p>"Brooke was driving the car at the time of the accident. She was travelling with her personal bodyguard, James Campbell. He has a nasty wound and a broken leg, but he'll live. He left in that ambulance just now. The truck driver is called Harsimran Singh. He's over in that ambulance, unhurt but in shock," Rousey said, pointing. Bayley could see the guy sitting in the ambulance with a paramedic talking to him, the rear doors left open.</p><p>"Okay," Thorne nodded. She then took charge, issuing orders to her people. "Rollins, Flair, go and talk to the truck driver and find out what he can tell us. Cole, Martinez, you're with me. Let's start by checking out the body. If this is cut and dried, we can be back in the office in an hour."</p><p>As the trio walked over to the body of Dana Brooke, Thorne took a pair of black nitrile gloves out of her jacket pocket and worked her hands into them. There was a paramedic standing guard near the body, waiting for a coroner to show up. Thorne opened her leather jacket to flash him her badge, which she kept fixed to her belt. Without a word, he stepped aside.</p><p>"Okay, let's have a look," Thorne said. Crouching down beside the body, she pulled back the plastic sheet to reveal the deceased's face.</p><p>Yep, that's Dana Brooke, Bayley thought, looking down at the lifeless blonde. There was a horrid looking injury on the side of her head, from which a significant amount of blood had leaked. The cause of death seemed clear. People tended to assume that modern cars with airbags kept people safe in all kinds of accidents, but Bayley knew that head on crashes, especially ones that happened at great speed, were often fatal. The passenger was lucky to have survived, for judging by the remains of the car, it had been travelling way too fast for a narrow road like this at the moment of impact.</p><p>"That'll do it," Cole said, looking at the head injury.</p><p>As he was speaking, Bayley had noticed something else. "There seems to be a bit of discolouration just above her top lip."</p><p>Thorne leaned over and gently turned Brooke's head to the side slightly to get a better look. Her lips were bright red thanks to lipstick, but there was a tinge of blue coming to the skin just above the top one. "Nice spot, Martinez. That does look a bit odd. We'll see what the coroner says when he gets here."</p><p>"The truck driver is pretty shaken up," Flair reported, coming over to join the group. Rollins was walking beside her.</p><p>"He said she was all over the road. He tried to avoid her, but she swerved the same way that he did, and it was all over," Rollins said.</p><p>"Said the car was absolutely flying, too," Flair added.</p><p>Driving at high speed, and erratically all over the road. Something weird had been going on in that car, or with the health of the driver, Bayley thought.</p><p>Shortly, the coroner arrived. He was a bald man with a goatee. He and the Intelligence Division team seemed to be familiar with each other, which wasn't much of a surprise to Bayley. They probably encountered each other quite often.</p><p>"Lucy," he said politely, setting his equipment bag down beside Brooke's body.</p><p>"Steve. This is Bayley Martinez. She joined my team today. Bayley, meet Steve Austin."</p><p>The coroner gave a thin smile and offered his hand. "Bayley. There's probably not much mileage in this one for a first case."</p><p>Bayley accepted the handshake. "Nice to meet you. And I'm not so sure about that. We've noticed some discolouration starting to appear above her top lip."</p><p>"Really? Let me take a look."</p><p>Thorne moved out of the way and Steve crouched down to have a look at what they had alerted him to.</p><p>"Hmmm," he said after a few moments. "That is interesting. I'll have to have a proper look when I've gotten her cleaned up in the morgue, and I'll need to do some blood work, but that could be a sign of poisoning."</p><p>Thorne looked at her team and raised an eyebrow. "Maybe there is something in this after all. Flair, Rollins, you're going to the hospital. Find out what the passenger knows, as soon as he's in any condition to talk to you. He's the only one who knows what was happening in that car in the final moments. The rest of us are going to find out Ms Brooke's address and get over there. Someone as famous as her is bound to have a staff. There also might be a boyfriend or girlfriend in the picture. Let's see if we can find out why someone might want to poison her."</p><p>Feeling good about being the one who had initially spotted the discolouration, Bayley started following Thorne and Cole back towards the SUV. Cole got on his phone to dispatch at the police station to obtain an address for Dana Brooke, while Thorne stopped for a moment to inform sergeant Rousey about what they had found. Bayley stayed close to the boss.</p><p>"Looks like there could be foul play," Thorne said to Rousey. "There's a possibility of poisoning. Austin's going to look into it ASAP."</p><p>"Fucking brilliant," Rousey grumbled.</p><p>"We're going to speak to the passenger, and we're going to go to Brooke's house to speak to the staff."</p><p>"Okay, thanks, Lucy, I'll give my press briefing accordingly," Rousey said.</p><p>"Right, let's move out," Thorne said to her team.</p><p>This one is about to get interesting, Bayley thought as she got in the back.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It turned out that Dana Brooke's home was only just over fives minute's drive away from where her car had annihilated itself into the front of a big rig.</p><p>Getting out of the SUV, Bayley found herself in the expansive grounds of a single storey property that looked like it could have featured on some kind of design and build TV show. It looked like it was made entirely of steel and glass. It wasn't Bayley's cup of tea, but she could recognise that it had to be worth a fortune.</p><p>There were two cars parked on one side of the wide driveway near the front of the house. They were not shabby, but they were not expensive sports cars either. The hired help, Bayley thought, not imagining for a moment that Dana owned either of them.</p><p>"Looks like the staff are here," Cole said, arriving at the same conclusion.</p><p>"Good. Let's see what they can tell us about Ms Brooke," Thorne said. "Seems like someone wanted her dead. Let's find out why."</p><p>Thorne started walking quickly towards the front door. Bayley had soon realised that she was working for a boss who liked to take the lead. She appreciated that. It was much better than someone who expected their staff to do all of the work.</p><p>Reaching the front door, Thorne banged her fist on it several times. The result was impressively loud.</p><p>After a few moments, the door was opened by a well presented man in a grey business suit. Approximately mid-thirties, he had gelled black hair, designer stubble, and a watch that was probably worth as much as Bayley's apartment, she judged.</p><p>"Yes?" the man said, rather looking down his nose at Thorne.</p><p>"I'm commander Thorne with SCPD's Intelligence Division." She gestured to the others in turn. "Detective Cole. Officer Martinez."</p><p>"Something I can help you with?" the man said, sounding like he would much prefer not to have to lower himself. Bayley imagined the attitude wasn't going to be well received by Ms Thorne. She was right.</p><p>"You can start with your name," Thorne snapped.</p><p>"Why do you want to know?" he challenged.</p><p>"Because your favourite Hollywood starlet and mine is dead, likely murdered, and I'm looking to put someone away for it. Right now, you're looking like an early favourite," Thorne said, deliberately wanting to shock him. It worked.</p><p>"Wait, are you saying Dana is dead?" the man gasped, taking a step back. He was clearly rocked by the news. "But she only just left! How can she be dead? And you said murdered? What is going on?"</p><p>"Shall we start again?" Thorne suggested, now that he had been knocked off his pedestal. "How about we come in, and you tell me your name?"</p><p>"Yes, come in," he said vaguely. "My name's Darryl. Darryl Antonius."</p><p>"Is anyone else here today, Darryl?" Cole asked as the Intelligence team entered the home. The fact that he posed the question told Bayley that it was okay to ask something if she wanted to; Thorne didn't insist on being the only voice heard. That was another thing she was glad to learn.</p><p>"Only Anna, the housekeeper. James went out with Dana like he always does. Wait, he's not dead too, is he? What even happened?"</p><p>"He's alive, heading to the hospital with a busted head and a broken leg. They were in a head on collision with a truck," Thorne said.</p><p>"But we think Dana was dead, or at least dying, before that happened," Bayley decided to add. "The accident was a result, not a cause."</p><p>Bayley noted the reactions she was getting from Darryl. Genuine shock and bewilderment were almost impossible to fake.</p><p>"What are you saying? This is too much to take in," he said, looking rapidly between all three of them.</p><p>"It looks like Dana was poisoned," Thorne said. "Maybe you can tell me who would want to do something like that?"</p><p>The colour had drained from Darryl's face. "Poisoned?" he said quietly. "I need to sit down."</p><p>Bayley looked at commander Thorne, who nodded slightly. It was an indication to change strategy, based on the fact that she trusted the reactions they had seen. Darryl's attitude had made them launch into him with the bad cop routine. Now it was time to try the opposite. Glancing at Cole, Bayley saw him looking back at her. They were giving her the role of good cop. It didn't surprise her all that much, since Ronda Rousey had often done the same thing. It seemed that people thought she looked like a natural 'good cop'.</p><p>"Okay, why don't you show us through to the living room?" Bayley suggested to Darryl, softening her tone.</p><p>"I really can't believe this," Darryl said as they followed him through a nearby door into a spacious living room that had minimalistic, modern furniture.</p><p>Bayley spotted a small drinks cabinet in a corner of the room. "How about detective Cole gets you a drink?" she suggested to Darryl as he flopped down onto a couch. She sat down beside him. Thorne took up a watching brief, standing by a fireplace a few feet away, while Cole went over to the drinks cabinet.</p><p>Darryl said, "I could use a whisky. Make it a double. Have one yourself if you like."</p><p>Bayley saw Thorne shoot Cole a look that told him not to even think about accepting that offer. He dutifully fixed only the one double shot, and carried it over to Darryl</p><p>"Thanks," Darryl said. He downed the whole thing in one chug, savouring the hit for a moment.</p><p>"Go and find the housekeeper," Thorne instructed Cole. "Sit her down somewhere. Wait for me before you tell her anything."</p><p>Cole nodded. "Yes, ma'am."</p><p>"Okay, Darryl, what's your relationship to Ms Brooke? Professional? Personal?" Bayley asked as Cole left the room.</p><p>"Professional. I'm her manager. Was her manager," he corrected sadly.</p><p>"If Dana was poisoned, it's highly likely she ingested the poison here, before she got in the car. I need a list of everyone who has been in this house today."</p><p>"Not much of a list. Me, Dana, James and Anna."</p><p>That makes things a bit easier, Bayley thought. Not many people to investigate if it was a poisoning, and had been ingested shortly before the accident. "Can you think of a reason why someone might want to harm Dana?" she asked.</p><p>"No," Darryl said definitively. "I mean, as a boss she could be a bit short tempered with people at times. I can maybe understand if people might have had some words to say behind her back. But to kill her? No, nothing at all to justify anything like that."</p><p>"Any other enemies she had?" Thorne asked. "You're her PA, so I figure you know as much about her life as anyone else."</p><p>"I already told you there were only the three of us here with Dana this morning."</p><p>"Just answer the question," Thorne said.</p><p>She's wondering if someone might have paid one of the staff to carry out a hit, Bayley thought.</p><p>"No. She had no enemies. There were tweets and stuff from time to time that made death threats, but everyone famous gets that kind of thing these days. There was never any reason to take any of them seriously."</p><p>"What was Dana doing this morning? Anything out of the ordinary?" Bayley asked.</p><p>"Nothing special. She got up, did her workout, had a swim, then she had breakfast. She was heading downtown today for a meeting about a new TV role. I can still picture her standing in the kitchen. She told me she would see me later, finished her cup of coffee, then she left. I can't believe I'll never see her again."</p><p>Bayley looked at her now boss upon the mention of a cup of coffee. They were on the same wavelength.</p><p>"Go and get that coffee cup," Thorne ordered. "I'll come and find you in a minute, and we'll talk to the housekeeper."</p><p>Bayley got up to obey the command, then realised that she hadn't been able to equip herself with any of the basics. It was something she should have asked detective Flair about before they left the station. "Uh, do you have an evidence bag? And some gloves?"</p><p>Thorne gave her an unimpressed look as she pulled a plastic evidence bag and two black nitrile gloves out of her jacket pocket.</p><p>"Thanks," Bayley said sheepishly. She wasn't going to make that mistake again.</p><p>Proceeding through to the kitchen, Bayley hoped to find the coffee cup in question unwashed. If it had been washed, any potential evidence would have been destroyed.</p><p>They were in luck, she soon found. There was a coffee cup standing in the empty sink. It seemed to be the only one that had been used. Bayley worked her hands into the gloves and carefully picked up the cup, slowly placing it into the evidence bag. She sealed the bag up. It was now ready to be sent to the lab. Hopefully it would yield evidence of poison matching whatever had killed Dana Brooke, if indeed she had been poisoned, and maybe some fingerprints too if they were really lucky.</p><p>"Darryl's going to sit tight in there until we're done with the housekeeper," Thorne said, appearing in the doorway. "Let's go and find where they are."</p><p>Carrying the cup in the evidence bag, Bayley walked with the commander. They only had to check a couple of rooms before they found Cole sitting in a smallish room that Bayley would have described as a study. It looked like Anna, the housekeeper, had been cleaning the windows. She was a short, dark haired, plump Hispanic woman, wearing the kind of housekeeper's uniform that hotel staff might wear.</p><p>"I'm commander Thorne," the boss said authoritatively as she walked into the room.</p><p>"What is happening? This detective won't tell me anything!" Anna objected in accented English.</p><p>"Ms Brooke is dead, likely poisoned. That is to say, murdered," Thorne said, going for shock value again. There was a certain quality to the way she spoke that left Bayley in admiration. It really drove the message into Anna, without needing to be aggressive.</p><p>"Oh... my god," Anna said. She was clearly taken aback, but the reaction was not as strong as Darryl's had been.</p><p>"Indeed," Thorne said. "I believe poison was put into the coffee cup that officer Martinez is holding, and Ms Brooke drank it. So, Anna, how about you start by giving me your full name, then tell me what poisons and chemicals you have access to in your little cleaning cupboard, wherever it is?"</p><p>"My name is Anna Fernandez. But wait, you can't be saying you think I killed Ms Brooke?"</p><p>"Actually, we can," Bayley said. "You see we already know that apart from Ms Brooke there were only three people in the house this morning. One of them is now in hospital, lucky to be alive."</p><p>"Mr Campbell is hurt? What happened?" Anna asked, looking taken aback again.</p><p>"Ms Brooke crashed her car head on into a semi, looks like as the poison was killing her," Cole said.</p><p>Anna looked like she was starting to panic. "I have some cleaning things that are probably poisonous, but please, I didn't do anything, I swear."</p><p>Thorne moved a bit closer to the chair that Anna was sitting in, seeming to loom over her. "Well someone did, and right now I like the look of you for it, so you'd better give me something."</p><p>Anna wavered a moment, then cracked. "She was a nasty woman!" she blurted out. "People think she is sweet and nice and kind because that is how they see her in public. In private she treated her staff like dirt. Bullying, abuse, I hate this job! James hates her too. The only person here she treated well was Darryl. I think she had a crush on him. But on god, I didn't poison her. I could never hurt another person."</p><p>Wow, Bayley thought. She hadn't expected that at all. She had seen Dana Brooke on TV a bunch of times, and she had seemed like a very likeable, funny woman. Behind the scenes, apparently, there had been another side to her.</p><p>"Okay, Anna, based on what you've just told me, I'm going to have to place you under arrest at this time on suspicion of murder."</p><p>"No! I didn't! I swear!" Anna begged, getting to plead with commander Thorne.</p><p>"We're going to find out who did it, Anna. If it wasn't you, you'll be released," Cole said. "Now put your hands behind your back and don't make this difficult for yourself."</p><p>"I haven't done anything!" Anna cried, even as she allowed Cole to cuff her wrists behind her back. He started reading her rights to her.</p><p>Thorne said, "Martinez, go and place Mr Antonius under arrest. Then we're going to the hospital to hear what Mr Campbell has to say for himself."</p>
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<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Before heading to the hospital to speak to James Campbell, commander Thorne had called ahead to Rollins and Flair, only to find out that he was still in surgery because of his badly broken leg.</p><p>With interrogation of Campbell not possible, Thorne had moved on to the next priority: searching Dana Brooke's house.</p><p>The wait for the warrant to be issued and delivered had been frustrating for Bayley. Some of the time had been spent handing over Anna Fernandez and Darryl Antonius over to uniformed officers for transportation to the station. The coffee cup that Bayley had collected had been sent away to the lab for analysis.</p><p>When the warrant had arrived, the hard work of searching the enormous house had begun, with the assistance of some uniformed officers, and detective Flair, who had been recalled from the hospital. For her part, Bayley had found nothing of interest in the rooms she had searched, apart from Anna's cleaning cupboard. As the housekeeper had said herself, there were several poisonous cleaning products and substances in there. Bayley had seized them all as potential evidence. If the coroner's report came back with a match on any of them, Anna Fernandez would be going to the top of the suspect list. However, either Campbell or Antonius could have had access to the cleaning cupboard.</p><p>When the search was completed, commander Thorne reconvened her team out on the driveway for a debrief.</p><p>"Not a lot. That's the best way I can summarise what we've got," the boss said. "Martinez found a bunch of cleaning products. Flair found a pair of leather gloves in Campbell's bedroom that looked like they had been hastily shoved in there. We'll get them sent off to the lab, along with the rubber gloves Martinez found in the cleaning cupboard. If our killer touched that coffee cup, I'm going to assume they weren't stupid enough to leave fingerprints behind. Maybe there will be traces of a matching chemical on the gloves. Until then, it's time to start interrogating Fernandez and Antonius, while we wait for the one legged wonder to wake up from his surgery, and results to come back from the coroner."</p><p>Wanting to show what she could do, Bayley hoped that she might be allowed to lead one of the interrogations. It wasn't her place to ask for that, though. Thorne would make the decision.</p><p>Before the commander could dismiss her team to head back to the station, her phone rang. She took it out of her jeans pocket and answered the call. "Thorne."</p><p>Bayley listened to her superior's side of the conversation.</p><p>"Hello, Steve. Have you got something for me?"</p><p>"Definitely poisoned? Likely dead before the impact with the truck. Interesting."</p><p>"Tetrobiazipene? Never heard of it."</p><p>"Really? That is a good lead. I'll get my tech expert on it."</p><p>"Thank you, Steve. Goodbye."</p><p>Thorne ended the call and put the phone back in her pocket before addressing the team. "Right, the coroner says Dana Brooke was definitely poisoned, and was likely dead before the car hit the truck. He said whoever poisoned her used a little known chemical called Tetrobiazipene. It's tasteless, odourless, and extremely deadly if ingested. Apparently she had enough of it in her system to kill at least ten people. It is also extremely rare."</p><p>"That's good. Makes it traceable," Flair said.</p><p>Thorne nodded. "Exactly. It's only used by chemical companies. It's not commercially available to the public, which is why I'm going to put a call in to Clementine now. One of those three got hold of that Tetrobiazipene from somewhere. If we can find a connection between one of them and someone who works in the chemical industry, we might be able to crack this case."</p><p>Bayley had to question the wisdom of the killer, whoever it was. They apparently hadn't bargained on the chemical being identified easily, or how simple it would then be for an expert like Clementine to comb through a list of friends and associates to find a connection in the chemical industry.</p><p>Thorne had her phone out again, placing her call back to the office. Again, Bayley listened to the conversation.</p><p>"Clem, I've got a job for you. You're going to look into Darryl Antonius, James Campbell and Anna Fernandez. They all work for Dana Brooke, who was murdered today by poisoning."</p><p>"Yes, that Dana Brooke. The chemical used as the poison is incredibly rare and not available for sale to the public. So what I need you to do is find a connection between one of those people and someone who works in the chemical industry."</p><p>"Thanks, Clem. Get on it now. We're heading back to the station."</p><p>Thorne ended the call and spoke to the team again. "Okay, let's go."</p><p>Detective Cole looked at Bayley as they walked back towards the SUV they had arrived in. "Twenty bucks says she has something by the time we get back."</p><p>"No bet," Bayley said. "I don't know Clementine yet, but I'm sure she's excellent at what she does."</p><p>Cole gave her a knowing smile. "You have no idea."</p><hr/><p>Half an hour later, Bayley walked back into the Intelligence Division offices with the rest of the team who had been at Dana Brooke's residence. They found Clementine standing by a white board that was fixed to the wall near to the door that led to the so-called Batcave. On the board, there was a picture of a bald man with a short black beard.</p><p>"Robert Holcroft," Clementine announced, slapping her hand on the picture for effect. "Foreman at Stamford Industrial Products."</p><p>"He's associated with one of our suspects?" Thorne asked.</p><p>"Yes he is."</p><p>"Which one?" Thorne asked impatiently as Clementine toyed with her.</p><p>"He's Facebook friends with James Campbell."</p><p>"Campbell?" Bayley asked in surprise. Their prime suspect was now the man who had been in the car wreck with Dana Brooke. What didn't make sense was why he would have gotten into the car with her if he had just poisoned her. It was practically risking giving himself a death sentence.</p><p>"Campbell was in a car with Brooke when he drove head on into a truck," Thorne told Clementine.</p><p>"Yes, he was," Cole said. "But didn't the coroner say there was way more poison in her system than it would have taken to kill one person? Maybe he didn't expect her to suffer the effects so soon?"</p><p>"Yes. Yes, you could be on to something there," Thorne said thoughtfully. "Right now the next thing that needs to happen is this Robert Holcroft's arse needs to be brought in. Martinez, you're with me. We're going to his place of work to pick him up. Flair, get back to the hospital and update Rollins. Tell the hospital staff that James Campbell is under arrest on suspicion of murder. I want you or Rollins in his room at all times."</p><p>"Yes, ma'am," Flair said.</p><p>A couple of minutes later, armed with an address for Stamford Industrial Products, Bayley was back downstairs, getting back into one of the SUVs. Commander Thorne was behind the wheel as the SUV started roaring along the tunnel towards the Batcave's exit.</p><p>"Clementine is good at her stuff, huh?" Bayley ventured for the sake of making conversation.</p><p>"Yes, she is. She's the best," Thorne said with a tenderness that Bayley picked up on. The reason was soon revealed to her. "She's also my adopted daughter, so be careful what you say about her."</p><p>"Oh!" Bayley exclaimed. "There doesn't seem to be much of an age difference between you."</p><p>"Ten years," Thorne said. "She was twelve, I was twenty two. I was stationed over here with MI6, and Clem lived next door to me with her mom. Her dad died when she was young. Her mom had brain cancer, and when she died there was no other family or anything to take her. I had gotten close to her, so I pulled a lot of strings and was able to legally adopt her."</p><p>"That's a lovely story. Well, I mean, the last part is," Bayley quickly corrected.</p><p>"I know what you mean," Thorne said.</p><p>Bayley picked up vibes that Thorne didn't want to talk about her relationship with Clementine anymore, so she let them ride in silence for a while.</p><p>"Just so you're clear, Martinez, if this Holcroft guy doesn't come to the station voluntarily and start giving us answers about supplying Campbell with that poison, I'm going to arrest him and get answers out of him. You need to know what that means."</p><p>The way the final sentence was delivered told Bayley what she needed to know. Things were done differently in Intelligence Division than elsewhere. In those cells down in the Batcave, she could imagine suspects being given a bit of physical persuasion to talk. It wasn't something she was thrilled about, but Intelligence Division was successful under Thorne's leadership. Everyone knew that.</p><p>"I'm okay with what we have to do. There's a murderer to arrest," Bayley said.</p><p>"And an accessory to murder," Thorne pointed out. "Something tells me Mr Holcroft will be wanting to make a deal by the time we're finishing with him."</p><p>Bayley realised there was an opportunity on the horizon to prove herself. "If we end up having to hardball him, I'd like to lead it."</p><p>Thorne glanced over at her from the driver's seat. "Yeah?"</p><p>"Yeah. People look at me like I'm the good cop too much for my liking. I think it's because of the way I look. I can be tough when I need to be. Let me show you."</p><p>Thorne nodded. "Very well. If it comes to that, he's all yours."</p>
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<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Stamford Industrial Products was a fairly large factory unit, Bayley saw as she got out of the SUV in the parking lot. The factory wasn't in the best of locations, but it looked quite modern, standing out from the buildings in the surrounding area. At the front of the unit, there was a reception area for visitors.</p><p>Commander Thorne barged through the entrance door with authority, startling the woman behind the reception desk. She was in her fifties, with curly grey hair and a rather officious look on her face.</p><p>"Can I help you with something?" the receptionist asked, taken aback by Thorne's arrival and demeanour.</p><p>Thorne held up her badge. "Commander Thorne, officer Martinez, SCPD Intelligence Division. We're here to speak to an employee, a Robert Holcroft. Is he here right now?"</p><p>"He is," the receptionist said, now on her feet. "I can go and get him for you, if you'll wait here." She started heading towards a door over on the back right of the reception area. Bayley could see through a small window in the door that it led through to the factory floor.</p><p>"We'll come with you," Thorne said.</p><p>The receptionist shook her head. "I'm sorry, that won't be possible. It's staff only on the factory floor."</p><p>Bayley looked at her boss, seeing a steely look in her blue eyes that even unnerved Bayley herself slightly. This was the commander in 'not to be fucked with' mode.</p><p>"Does this face look like it's asking questions right now?" Thorne said icily.</p><p>"Uhm, no, ma'am," the receptionist stuttered. "Why don't you follow me, and we'll go find Robert?"</p><p>"That would be wonderful," Thorne said dryly.</p><p>Bayley followed the two women through the door, onto the factory floor. It was a maze of pipes, valves, tanks and workstations, none of which meant anything to Bayley. There were workers wandering around wearing overalls, protective goggles and hart hats. She soon became aware that they were heading towards a man with a dark blue hard hat, as opposed to the white ones that everyone else was wearing. Blue hat also had a black beard. Robert Holcroft, she thought.</p><p>"Martinez," Thorne said quietly, meaning that Bayley should take the lead in the encounter.</p><p>Happy to receive the opportunity, Bayley walked slightly quicker, catching up to the receptionist before she reached Holcroft. Before they got there, he saw them coming. Bayley saw a flash of flight or flight instinct on his face, which told her a lot, before he got control of himself and tried to play it cool.</p><p>"Robert, these detectives are looking for you," the receptionist said. She clearly wanted to linger for some gossip, but a look from Thorne sent her on her way.</p><p>"Martinez, Thorne, SCPD," Bayley said. "You are Robert Holcroft?"</p><p>"I am. How can I help you, ladies?"</p><p>"You can help us by coming down to the station with us to answer some questions," Bayley said.</p><p>"In relation to what?" Robert asked, although was pretty certain that he knew.</p><p>"In relation to a murder," Bayley said. "Come on, let's go."</p><p>"If I don't?" he asked.</p><p>"You'll be coming on way or the other," Bayley promised him. "So, the thing we need to determine is how it happens. You can walk out freely to help us with our enquiries, or I can arrest you in front of your colleagues as an accessory to murder. The latter will look bad for you here, and it'll look bad for you with us. That's not what you want."</p><p>"Sure, I'll come to the station with you," Holcroft said after a moment, trying to act like it had been his intention the whole time.</p><p>"After you," Bayley said, motioning for him to lead the way. She received a slight nod of praise from commander Thorne for the way she had conducted herself.</p><hr/><p>"Are we going to offer him a deal?" Bayley asked commander Thorne. They were looking at Robert Holcroft through a two way mirror as he sat alone in an interview room, looking thoroughly down on his luck. He had been left alone for half an hour to stew, fretting about his predicament and what might be about to happen to him.</p><p>"Yes, I think we will," Thorne decided. "You can tell him if he confesses to supplying Campbell with the Tetrobiazipene, and testifies to that effect, he will face no charges."</p><p>"Alright," Bayley nodded. She started to feel nervous. It was now time for her to go into the interview room and show her boss the tough side of Bayley.</p><p>Walking around to the interview room door, Bayley took a deep breath. She stopped outside the door for a moment to get her face and her attitude set, then marched into the room.</p><p>Holcroft looked up at Bayley, but she didn't give him a chance to say anything. "Right, here's where I'm at with you," she said sternly as she sat down opposite him, her back to the two way mirror through which her performance was being judged. "I know you stole a quantity of Tetrobiazipene from Stamford Industrial Products. I know you gave it to James Campbell, and I know he used it to poison and murder Dana Brooke. So, you're looking at a long jail term as an accessory to murder. However, there is a deal I'm prepared to offer you. It's good for sixty seconds."</p><p>"What deal?" Holcroft asked sullenly.</p><p>"A full confession, and testimony when this comes to trial. In return, you walk. You'll probably lose your job for the theft, but you won't do time."</p><p>"You honestly expect me to stand in court and snitch on my friend?"</p><p>Bayley looked at her watch. "That's up to you. Thirty seconds."</p><p>They sat across from each other, looking into each other's eyes. Bayley made sure she looked firm and determined, whereas Holcroft was clearly wavering.</p><p>Bayley looked at her watch again. "If I walk out of this room, you're done. Ten seconds. Nine. Eight. Seven. Six."</p><p>"Alright," Holcroft said, leaning back in his chair as he caved. "Alright, I'll take your deal. But I don't want to lose my job. I want nothing said to them about this, and I want no charges brought against me, like you said."</p><p>"Done. Now tell me everything," Bayley instructed.</p><hr/><p>"Right then, Cole, Flair, go and cut Fernandez and Antonius loose," commander Thorne ordered. She and her team were in the Intelligence Division office, after Bayley had extracted a full confession from Robert Holcroft. "Martinez, you and I are heading over to the hospital to give Sleeping Beauty the good news that he's going down for murder."</p><p>My first day working with the division and I'm going to help close a case, Bayley thought. She could hardly have asked for a better start.</p><p>"There's only one more thing I want to know," Thorne said as they made their way down the stairs to the Batcave.</p><p>"Why he did it?" Bayley guessed.</p><p>"Precisely. We've all worked for people we don't like. Don't you dare say anything," Thorne said, raising a finger to Bayley, who laughed at the joke.</p><p>"As if I would."</p><p>Thorne managed to crack a smile. "As I was saying, we've all worked for people we don't like. What I don't get is why he didn't just quit. Why kill her? Maybe he's just mental? Or maybe he thought he would somehow get famous because of it? 'I was there when Dana Brooke was poisoned.' That kind of thing."</p><p>"You could be right," Bayley said as she walked around the SUV to the passenger's side.</p><p>After getting into the vehicle, Bayley took out her phone. It had just occurred to her to let Sasha know how her first day was going. She found a text message waiting for her from Sasha herself, asking how she was. Bayley quickly typed out a response.</p><p>I'm great, babe. Hope you are too? I'm working the Dana Brooke case, which you may have heard about. Don't say anything to anyone, but there was foul play. I'm on my way to arrest the murderer right now.</p><p>Bayley liked how good the message made her sound, knowing that Sasha would be seriously impressed. And so it proved to be when a reply came back a couple of minutes later.</p><p>That's amazing, Bay! You're so good at what you do! Tell me all about it tonight. Love you.</p><p>Bayley smiled. She delighted in regaling Sasha with work stories, sometimes exaggerating details a bit for effect. Sasha lapped it up, to the point that she got turned on by it on occasion. Bayley wondered if she might get lucky that night.</p><p>The drive to the hospital took just over five minutes. Thorne and Bayley were met at the front entrance by detective Rollins, so that he could show them to James Campbell's room.</p><p>"How's our not so clever poisoner doing?" Thorne asked as they approached Rollins.</p><p>"Awake, but pretty drugged up after the surgery," Rollins said. "Flair and I haven't spoken to him; we've been sitting just outside his room. So the satisfaction of telling him he's under arrest can go to you."</p><p>"You're most kind," Thorne said graciously.</p><p>Bayley smiled at the exchange. She was genuinely enjoying working with these people. The way they interacted was befitting of people who meant something to each other, no matter their rank. She hoped to be part of that dynamic herself sooner than later.</p><p>"How has your first day been?" Rollins asked Bayley as they walked along a hallway, past various patient rooms and a nurse's station.</p><p>"I've enjoyed it. It's been an interesting case, and we've solved it so quickly. Luckily, a lot of murderers are idiots. People tend to think killers are all masterminds because they watch TV shows."</p><p>Rollins laughed. "Right. Thank god real life isn't like that. We'd have to walk around shooting off corny one liners, and we'd probably be sleeping with each other."</p><p>"You're not my type," Bayley said dryly.</p><p>They rounded a corner, and detective Flair came in to view, sitting on a cheap plastic chair outside of one of the patient rooms.</p><p>"Here we are. Let's give him the good news," Thorne said. Greeting Flair with a nod, she entered the room without hesitation.</p><p>Bayley followed the boss into the room. They found their killer in quite a state. His broken leg was fully encased in a cast, and there was extensive bandaging around his head, covering most of his blonde hair. His blue eyes looked glazed from the pain meds that he had been filled with. When he spoke, he sounded groggy. "Who are you?"</p><p>Commander Thorne, SCPD Intelligence Division," she said, stepping up to the bed. "James Campbell, you're under arrest for the murder of Dana Brooke." She continued, reading him his rights.</p><p>"I haven't done anything," Campbell protested weakly.</p><p>"I've got chemical analysis, a coroner's report, and witness testimony that says otherwise. Enjoy your time in hospital if you can, because you'll probably be spending the rest of your days in prison. You see, Robert Holcroft told us all about how you came to him looking to get your hands on something tasteless, odourless and highly poisonous. Where you went wrong was the amount of it you tipped into that cup of coffee. You gave her every last drop you had, didn't you? You gave her so much that she died in the car before you got to the meeting you were going to, where you probably hoped to pin the poisoning on someone there."</p><p>Campbell didn't respond in any way.</p><p>"Why did you do it? Why go as far as killing your boss?" Bayley wanted to know.</p><p>"No comment," Campbell mumbled, closing his eyes.</p><p>So, he's going to be one of those people, Bayley thought. He would likely say nothing of value until his trial, where the evidence gathered would be more than enough to put him away for many years, no matter what he did or didn't say in his defence.</p><p>One case, one good result, Bayley thought as she looked at the murderer they had just arrested. She hoped the ratio would continue for a long time to come.</p><p>THE END</p>
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